The Monarchy
1.
Why does the Queen have two birthdays?
2.
What powers does the Queen have?
3.
Why is the heir to the throne called the Prince of Wales?
4.
What does ‘Royal’
mean in the context of Royal Borough of... Royal Society of...?
5.
What are Royal Warrants?
6.
What is the origin of the mottoes ‘Dieu et mon droit’ and ‘Honi soit
qui mal y pense’?
7.
How does the honours system work?
8.
What is the order of precedence for
royalty, peers etc?
9.
Royal Ceremonies
Why does the Queen have two birthdays?
The Queen was actually born on 21 April, but it
has long been customary to celebrate the Sovereign’s birthday on a day
during the summer. Since 1805 the Sovereign’s ‘official’ birthday has been
marked by the Trooping the Colour ceremony, normally held on the second
Saturday in June.
This is a ceremony which originated when it was
essential for soldiers to recognise the flag or ‘Colour’ of their regiment
so that they could follow it into battle. Each year one of the five
regiments of the foot guards (Grenadiers, Coldstream Guards, Scots, Irish
and Welsh Guards) take turns to display their Colour in the
ceremony.
The ceremony begins with the Queen leaving Buckingham Palace
escorted by the Household Cavalry. She rides down The Mall to Horse Guards
Parade and inspects the 500 guardsmen.
The Colour is trooped by being
carried along the ranks of guardsmen, and the Colour party then leads the
guards on a march past the Queen, accompanied by the massed bands of the
foot guards.
No particular annual ceremony is held on the Queen’s true
birthday, although the Union Flag is flown on public buildings and the
national anthem is sung.
What powers does the Queen have?
The Crown, which represents both the Sovereign (the person on whom the Crown
is constitutionally conferred) and the Government, is the symbol of supreme
executive power. The Crown is vested in the Queen, but in general its functions
are exercised by Ministers responsible to Parliament and thus Britain is
governed by Her Majesty’s Government in the name of the Queen. However, the
Queen’s involvement is still required in many important acts of government.
Parliament:
The Queen summons, prorogues (discontinues until the next session without
dissolving) and dissolves Parliament. She normally opens the new session of
Parliament with a speech from the
throne which is written for her by the Government and outlines her Government’s
programme. Before a Bill becomes law the Queen must give it her Royal Assent,
which is announced to both Houses of Parliament.
Justice:
The Queen can, on ministerial advice, pardon or show mercy to those convicted of
crimes. In law the Queen as a private person can do no wrong: she is immune from
civil or criminal proceedings and cannot be sued in courts of law. This immunity
is not shared by other members of the royal family.
Honours and appointments:
The Queen has the power to confer peerages, knighthoods and
other honours. She normally does this on the recommendation of
the Prime Minister, although a few honours are conferred by the Sovereign
personally. The Queen makes appointments to many important state offices, on the
advice of the Prime Minister or the relevant Cabinet Minister.
Foreign policy:
Foreign diplomatic representatives in London are accredited to the Queen, and
she has the power to conclude treaties, to declare war and to make peace, to
recognise foreign states and governments and to annex and cede territory.
Privy Council:
The Queen presides over meetings of the Privy Council. At these, among other
things, Orders in Council made under the Royal Prerogative or under statute are
approved. The Royal Prerogative mainly comprises executive government - powers
controlled by constitutional conventions (rules which are not part of the law,
but which are regarded as indispensable to the machinery of government).
In nearly all cases acts involving the Royal Prerogative are performed by
Ministers who are responsible to Parliament and can be questioned about
policies. Parliament has the power to abolish or restrict a prerogative right.
In addition to being informed and consulted about all aspects of national life,
the Queen is free to put forward her own views, in private, for the
consideration of her Ministers.
What is the origin of the mottoes ‘Dieu et mon droit’ and ‘Honi soit
qui mal y pense’?
‘Dieu et mon
droit’ (French for ‘God and my right’ - see above) is the motto of the Sovereign. The
words were the countersign (military password) chosen by King Richard I
before the battle of Gisors in 1198, meaning that he was no vassal of
France, but owed his royalty to God alone. The French were defeated in
battle, but the password was not adopted as the royal motto of England
until the time of Henry VI and has since been retained by his successors.
The motto appears below the shield on the Royal Coat of Arms.
‘Honi
soit qui mal y pense’ (French for ‘Evil be to him who evil thinks’ -
see above)
appears on a garter which surrounds the shield on the Royal Coat of Arms.
This garter symbolises the Order of the Garter, an ancient order of
knighthood of which the Queen is Sovereign. The Order of the Garter was
founded by Edward III in 1348 during the Hundred Years War with
France.
The motto may well have been directed at critics of the King’s
claims to the French throne; however, according to a tradition first
recorded by Tudor chroniclers, the motto originated at a feast celebrating
the capture of Calais in 1347. The King’s mistress, the Countess of
Salisbury, was mocked by courtiers for losing her garter during a dance,
but Edward at once stepped forward and tied the blue ribbon around his own
knee, uttering the motto as a rebuke and declaring that the Garter would
soon be held in the highest esteem!
How does the honours system work?
British honours are awarded on merit, for
exceptional achievement or service. In 1993 the
then Prime Minister, John Major, ended the
automatic practice of conferring awards on the
holders of certain posts, opening the honours
system to more people - particularly those in
the voluntary sector - who qualify on merit.
Most honours are announced in one of the two
annual sets of honours lists - one at New Year
and the other in June, on the Queen’s official
birthday. The Queen chooses the recipients of
honours on the advice of the Prime Minister and
other relevant ministers, to whom
recommendations are made by their departments or
members of the public.
The various honours
include:
Life Peers: These titles are not
hereditary and are the only form of peerage
regularly created by the Queen
nowadays.
Baronetcies: A baronetcy is a
heritable honour - a title that is passed on to
male heirs.
Knighthoods: Knights may be
either Knights Bachelor, or members of one of
the Orders of Chivalry. The honour of knighthood
derives from the usages of medieval chivalry, as
does the method normally used to confer the
knighthood: the accolade, or touch of a sword by
the Sovereign.
The Most Excellent Order of
the British Empire:
this award is given
mainly to civilians and service personnel for
public service and other distinctions. The OBE
and MBE are the two orders most commonly awarded
to men and women for services to their
country.
What is the order of precedence for
royalty, peers etc?
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The Peerage of the United Kingdom comprises most peerages
created in the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland after the Act of
Union in 1801. Until the House of Lords Act 1999 was passed, all Peers of the UK
could sit in the House of Lords. The ranks of the peerage are, in descending
order of rank, Duke (herceg), Marquess (õrgróf), Earl (gróf), Viscount (there is
no Hungarian equivalent), and Baron; the feminine equivalents are duchess,
marchioness, countess, viscountess and baroness respectively.
In the United Kingdom, Life Peers are created members
of the Peerage whose titles may not be inherited (those whose titles are
inheritable are known as hereditary peers). Nowadays, life peerages, always of
baronial rank, are created under the Life Peerages Act 1958 and carry with them,
presuming the recipient meets qualifications such as age and citizenship, seats
in the House of Lords.
Hereditary peers hold titles that may be inherited.
Formerly, most of them were entitled to a seat in Parliament, but now,
hereditary peers do not have an automatic right to sit in the House of Lords.
Ninety-two are permitted to sit in the House of Lords under the House of Lords
Act 1999.
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The order of precedence in
England and Wales is as follows:
The
Sovereign; The Duke of Edinburgh; The Prince of
Wales; The Sovereign’s younger sons; The
Sovereign’s grandsons; The Sovereign’s cousins;
The Archbishop of Canterbury; Lord High
Chancellor; Archbishop of York; The Prime
Minister; Lord High Treasurer; Lord President of
the Council; Speaker of the House of Commons; Lord
Privy Seal; Ambassadors and High Commissioners.
Peers rank among themselves as
follows:
1. of England,
2. of
Scotland,
3. of Great Britain,
4. of
Ireland,
5. of UK and Ireland.
Precedence among those with honours and
titles:
Dukes; Marquesses; Earls;
Viscounts; Barons; Knights of the Garter;
Baronets; Knights of the Thistle and other
orders; Knights Bachelor; Companions.
The
Archbishop of Canterbury takes precedence in
England and Wales after Royal Princes, while
Bishops rank above barons but below
viscounts.
In Scotland precedence alters as
follows: The Sovereign; The Duke of Edinburgh; The
Lord High Commissioner to the General Assembly
(while that Assembly is sitting); The Duke of
Rothesay (eldest son of the Sovereign); The
Sovereign’s younger sons; the Sovereign’s
cousins; Lord Lieutenant of Counties; Lords
Provost of Counties of Cities; Sheriffs Principal;
Lord Chancellor of Great Britain; Moderator of the
General Assembly of the Church of Scotland; The
Prime Minister.
Royal Ceremonies
London is a royal city and has preserved its ceremonies and
traditions over hundreds of years. Some are every day and some are every
year.
The most traditional ceremonies and most popular attractions are
the
Trooping
of the Colour (left)
and the Changing of the Guard. Each
year, the Queen and other members of the Royal
Family attend the Trooping the Colour ceremony on Horse Guards Parade
in London. The Queen attends the ceremony to take the salute from
thousands of guardsmen who parade the Queen's Colour (flag).
Trooping the Colour, which has
honoured the sovereign's official birthday for nearly two centuries, dates
back to the earliest times of armed conflict, when each leader needed his
own flag or colours to stand out clearly amid the smoke and dust of
battle. The flag or colours was trooped in front of the soldiers every day
to make sure that every man could recognise those of his own
regiment.
Searching
the Houses of
Parliament:
Before
every State Opening of Parliament,
the Yeomen
of the Guard search the cellars beneath the Palace of Westminster by
the light of old candle-lanterns. This precaution has been undertaken
every year since 1605, when the "Gunpowder
Conspirators" attempted to blow up parliament on the day of the State
Opening.
The State Opening of
Parliament:
Dating
back to Medieval London, this ceremony marks the beginning of the new
parliamentary year and features peers and bishops in traditional robes and
a royal procession involving the State Coach.
State openings usually take place in November, or soon after a General
Election. On the day of the Opening, the Queen travels from Buckingham
Palace to the Houses of Parliament in the Stage Coach (a gold
carriage). Once the Queen arrives at Parliament the union flag is lowered
and replaced by the royal standard.
The Queen, wearing her crown and
ceremonial robes then processes through the Royal Gallery to take her
place on the throne in the House of Lords, from where she sends her
messenger (Black Rod) to summon the MPs. When he arrives at the House of
Commons, the door is slammed in his face, symbolizing the right of the
Commons to freedom from interference. He must then knock three times to
gain entry and deliver his summons.
The Queen sits on a throne in the House of Lords and reads
the "Queen's Speech". It is
tradition for the monarch to open parliament in person, and The Queen has
performed the ceremony in every year of her reign except for 1959 and
1963, when she was pregnant with princes Andrew and Edward respectively. No King or
Queen has entered the House
of Commons since 1642, when Charles l stormed in with his soldiers and
tried to arrest five members of Parliament who were against the King being
given command of the new army.
Ceremony of the
Keys:
One
of London’s most timeless ceremonies, dating back 700 years is the
ceremony of the keys which takes place at the Tower
of London.
At 21:53 each night the Chief Yeoman Warder of
the Tower, dressed in Tudor uniform, sets off to meet the Escort of the
Key dressed in the well-known Beefeater
uniform. Together they tour the various gates ceremonially locking them,
on returning to the Bloody Tower archway they are challenged by a
sentry.
"Who goes
there?"
"The Keys."
answers The Chief Warder
"Whose Keys?"
the sentry demands.
"Queen
Elizabeth's Keys."
"Pass Queen
Elizabeth's Keys. All's well."
A trumpeter then sounds the Last Post before the keys are
secured in the Queen’s House.
Changing of the Guard:
Outside Buckingham Palace, you
can see guardsmen
dressed in their bright red uniforms and bearskin hats. These guardsmen
protect the Queen. Every day a new guard of thirty guardsmen marches to
the palace and takes the place of the "old guard". This is known as the
Changing of the Guards ceremony and it dates back to 1660.
The monarch
and the royal
palaces have been guarded by the Household Troops since 1660.
Maundy Money:
Maundy
Thursday is the day before Good Friday, at Easter. On that day the
Queen gives Maundy money to a group of old people. This tradition is over
1,000 years old. At one time the king or queen washed the feet of poor,
old people on Maundy Thursday, but that stopped in 1754.
Swan
Upping:
In
July, the Queen´s swan keeper sails up the River Thames, from London
Bridge to Henley. Swans are weighed and tagged during the annual Swan
Upping event on the Thames. Royal ownership is shared with the Vintners'
and Dyers' Companies, who were granted rights of ownership by the Crown in
the 15th century.
The
Queen's
Telegram:
This fairly new custom
assures aspiring centenarians that they will receive a birthday telegram
from the queen on their one-hundredth birthday. On his or her one hundreth
birthday, a British person gets a telegram from the Queen.
The Birthday Honours list and the
New Year
Honours list:
Twice a year at
Buckingham Palace, the Queen gives titles or 'honours', once in January
and once in June.
Since the Middle Ages, tradespeople who have acted as suppliers of
goods and services to the Sovereign have received the honour of formal
recognition. In the beginning this patronage took the form of royal
charters given collectively to various trade guilds; later the
relationship between the Crown and individual tradespeople was formalised
by the issue of royal warrants.